


anonomous

by fictionalrobin



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alec is a good boyfriend, Cooking Dinner, Domestic Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Fluff, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Magnus Bane's past, Magnus Bane-centric, but slightly stalkerish, its all good though they're happy, magnum's real name
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 05:34:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14730929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictionalrobin/pseuds/fictionalrobin
Summary: He rubbed his temples and zoomed in on the box. His fingers clicked against the tablet screen. He should probably clean it.Name: unknown





	anonomous

Alec hadn't meant to look at the file.  

Really it wasn't such a huge deal. It was just a name.  

But as he stared at the unfilled box in Magnus's clave records, he couldn't help but wonder.  

He rubbed his temples and zoomed in on the box. His fingers clicked against the tablet screen. He should probably clean it. 

 _N_ _ame: unknown_  

 _Alias(_ _es_ _): Scratch_ _,_ _X,_ _Magnus Bane, the real estate_  

He'd just been curious. It was late at night, and he was getting tired of halfassed mission reports and melodramatic clave letters. So, like the crazy-stalker-boyfriend this probably made him look like, he'd decided to check his boyfriend's files. Just to have something to tease him with over the dinner table. 

What first took up most of his screen was the _clave violations_ field. That really wasn't such a surprise. It was a miracle Magnus that wasn't in the city of bones at this point. (he also couldn't help but chuckle guiltily when he noticed most of the crimes were from when he began hanging around them)  

Then he'd scrolled down and reached where he was now.  

 _N_ _ame: unknown_  

He sighed and leaned back. He'd opened the file for stress relief, not for an even bigger headache. 

 _N_ _ame: unknown_  

Maybe it was a typo? A stupid clave member not caring? Just scratching something down without even bothering to fact-check? 

 _N_ _ame: unknown_  

 _A_ _lias(_ _es_ _): Scratch,_ _X,_ _Magnus Bane, the real estate_  

His phone gave an aggressive hum from the table, and the screen lit up with a text. He blinked and ripped himself away from the tablet. 

It was from Magnus. 

 _Magnus <3: all done with my clients for the __day :_ _)_ _wha_ _t do u_ _want for dinner?_  

Alec furrowed his brow. 

 _M_ _e:_ _I_ _talian?_  

It felt weird to text about dinner with Magnus. He didn't know why, but he felt like he'd seen something he wasn't allowed to see. Which was ridiculous. He was the head of the institute, if anyone was allowed to look at these files, it was him.  

 _Magnus_ _ <3_ _: I_ _talian_ _it is._ _When will u be home?_  

Alec glanced at the pile of papers on his desk. Uhh.... 

Yeah no way he'd get that done tonight. 

Especially not when... 

 _N_ _ame: unknown_  

He immediately pushed the thought into the back of his mind with an irritated groan. Not doubt and anxiety right now. Just him and Magnus. Eating dinner. Eating delicious spaghetti, probably accompanied by a nice wine. With meat balls. Delicious food, and a beautiful man. No need to focus on anything other than that.  

 _M_ _e: can u portal me?_  

He sighed and added a few heart emojis at the end. _There_. No reason to make Magnus worry. His siblings would probably tease him to death if they found out about his emoji addiction. And he had to admit it was corny. But he liked them. So whatever.  

 _N_ _ame: unknown_  

A warm woosh hit him, and a golden vortex showed up in front of his desk, just as a winky face buzzed in on his screen. It blew his fringe away with warm licks (when he left in the morning, it'd been a quiff, but it was exhausting to constantly perfect it), and he got up from his chair and took one last look at his tablet. 

 _A_ _lias(_ _es_ _): Scratch,_ _X,_ _Magnus Bane, the real estate_  

He shut it off before he stepped through the portal.  

- 

When Alec popped into the Livingroom, he could already smell the meat sauce coming from the kitchen.  

Huh. 

He'd assumed Magnus would just magic the food up like he usually did, even though Alec asked him not to. Not that he was complaining though. Magnus's home-cooked meals were always a treat. Magnus might not want to admit it, but he was an extraordinary chef.  

He shrugged off his coat and headed to the kitchen.  

Immediately, a wall of scent and sound hits him. Tomato sauce happily boiling away in a pot, the bubbles popping with big lazy _pops_. The fire simmering underneath it and the rush of the ventilator working away at the steam. Magnus was standing next to the pot in the kitchen island, chopping up veggies with calm, pattern-y movements. 

"Hey," Alec headed up to the kitchen island with a smile.  

"Hi!" Magnus gasped and met Alec's peck halfway, "I didn't hear you come in."  

Alec shrugged, "shadowhunter. Need any help with that?" He nodded towards the squash Magnus was currently dissecting.  

"yes, that would be lovely, could you fry the meat with the onions? I think the tomato sauce is just about ready," Magnus pointed towards a smaller cutting board with a neatly arranged row of onion and garlic, as well as a tiny amount of chili.  

"sure," Alec nodded and grabbed a squared wooden spoon from the jar and a clattering pan from the drawer.  

It felt nice, cooking with Magnus. It was rare that they got the opportunity to do so. Do anything together really. Both of them worked busy jobs with high demands, and free time wasn't a thing they had lying around in piles.  

It was a wonder he'd even gotten home before midnight.  

But that was...because of other reasons. 

The casefile popped up in his head like a screaming red traffic sign. His eyes widened and flew to Magnus, and he swore he could see the neon-blue letters hovering over his head.  

 _N_ _ame: unknown_  

"everything okay darling?"  

Alec blinked. He'd stopped stirring the meat. He could hear it sizzle aggressively next to him, like a cranky toddler screaming for attention.  

"sorry?"  

Magnus (could he even call him that anymore?) put his knife down, "you look like Lorenzo himself stuck his greasy ponytail up your ass."  

"uh," Alec swallowed, "I'm fine."  

The neon letters were still there. 

 _Name: unknown_  

 _Name: unknown_  

"are you sure?"  

Alec hummed, though it sounded more like a T-rex trying to hold in explosive diarrhea. 

Magnus didn't say anything.  

Thankfully. 

The rest of their cooking session was silent. It was almost like a thick blanket of something had settled around the room. And Alec didn't know how to make it go away. 

 _N_ _ame: unknown_  

 _-_  

It was while they were setting the table Alec finally broke.  

The table glimmered with shinny plates and newly washed wineglasses. Plum-colored napkins decorated the sides of the plates and complimented the silverware. A few candles wavered in the middle, and their reflection rounded in the crystal glasses and wine bottles. 

It was the setup for a perfect romantic evening.  

And now Alec was about to ruin it all. 

"Magnus, we need to talk."  

His eyes met Alec's, dark and with a hint of fear. The muscles in his throat contracted. 

"is something wrong?" 

"no," Alec hurriedly said, "uhm, well at least not in the way I think you think is wrong."  

Magnus tilted his head. He put the glass he'd been holding down. It clinked softly against the side of his plate. 

"okay?"  

"It's," Alec hesitated, "it's about something I found...in your case file."  

Magnus took a small step backwards, "oh." Then he wiggled his eyebrows, "well, Alexander, you of all people should know I don't have a completely clean backstory."  

"it's not about that," Alec's grip on his chair tightened slightly. Then he let go, and crossed the table, until he could stand in front of Magnus.   

Magnus's eyes darted between Alec and his abandoned chair.  

"not really."  

"what's eh," he swallowed, "are you okay?"  

"Magnus isn't your real name."  

Magnus froze.  

Like, completely froze. 

His back straightened, his shoulders tensed. Almost like his skin was suddenly too tight for his muscles. His mouth opened, his eyes widened, and Alec waited for him to say something.  

But he didn't.  

He just stood there in silence, gaping at Alec. 

"I," he mumbled it softly, before his voice died. 

A strange, brown guilt formed inside Alec. Almost like he'd accidently swallowed a snake. Magnus looked like he'd just slapped him.  

"I..."  

That was all he could do. Just stand there, gaping like a fish on land, gasping "I-I-I" over and over again. The snake grew bigger. Especially when Alec noticed the tears, slowly forming in the corners of his eyes.  

"I'm sorry," he finally gasped, did a 180* turn, and rushed to the balcony.  

"Magnus!" Alec gasped, but his boyfriends back had already disappeared between the curtains. He was quiet. Very-un-Magnus-y quiet.  

Alec stalked after him.  

Magnus was leaning against the balcony. Both his hands were planted securely on the railing, his arms stretched out, so it looked like he might fall over. His head hung slightly between his shoulders, as if it was about to fall off.  

"hey," Alec mumbled. He didn't wanna get too close, "are you okay?" 

 _H_ _e never should've brought it up_  

"I'm sorry," Magnus gasped 

Alec hesitated. Then he moved closer. It felt like Magnus was a landmine, and if he dared touch him he'd go off.  

"I," Magnus repeated, "I'm sorry, but it's just..."  

He stared over the building-tops of the city. His eyes were still slightly glossy from the held-back tears, and Alec could see a tiny reflection of the view in his iris. Like a darkened snow globe. A mini New York captured inside Magnus's eyes.  

"it's been a long time since anyone's brought that up. A _long_ time. And I...it's not something I've t-told anyone. Ever."  

Alec stayed quiet. He didn't want to interrupt. Not when guilt still gnawed at his ribs.  

"and I guess...you caught me by surprise, that's all," Magnus huffed out a laugh, but Alec could feel the tension radiating off him. It didn't feel genuine. 

"I'm sorry I mentioned it," Alec said, and carefully placed a hand on Magnus's shoulder, "let's just go back to dinner."  

"no," Magnus put his hand up, "no it's okay, you are right to be curious, hell if I found out that you lied about your entire identity, I'd have some questions too."  

Entire identity. Yeah, Alec definitely had questions. 

"no, Magnus Bane is not my real name. December 8th is not my real birthday, it was just a date I picked so people would stop asking. I'm not eight hundred. I'm not nine hundred. I'm just," Magnus stopped and starred into space, "I'm just me."  

"it's okay," Alec grabbed his hand, "you don't have to be anything more than that."  

Magnus looked down at their hands. How Alec's fingers curled around his and warmed them. Slowly, a smile began to spread across his lips, and this time it actually seemed real.  

"thank you, Alexander."  

Alec watched him with awe. The late night golden light made his skin look even smoother than usual. It outlined his face with golden stripes. The soft liner edging his eyes looked almost purple.  

Then he took a deep breath.  

"do you remember when I told you about being homeless?"  

"yes," Alec's breath felt like it was made of helium. Light, too light. Almost clogging his throat. This was it. This was now. He'd get the whole story. He knew it was childish, but he couldn't help but get a certain rush down his back whenever Magnus would reveal something about his past. Like a kid about to open an advent calendar. 

"a shadowhunter found me one day rummaging through some old trashcans," Magnus continued, and his nose crinkled slightly, "I think some old lady filled a complaint to the police about me, and the local institute decided to reach out. Something about a strange cat-eyed boy or something. I'm not sure, I didn't read the report myself" he shrugged, "but they took me to the local institute. 

"at first I didn't trust them. I didn't trust anyone. I refused to speak or tell them where I came from, how old I was, what my name was, where my parents were. I only ate their food and glared at them when they questioned me. In the end, the shadowhunter that found me sat me down to talk to me. He told me that he didn't need much. All he wanted was my name. And it didn't even have to be my real one. Just something for him to write in his report."  

Magnus paused for a moment. As he'd told his story, it was almost like the balcony around them had quieted down. Like the entire city was holding its breath while Magnus spoke. Or maybe it was just Alec.  

Magnus scoffed. It was one of those fond scoffs you only hear from really old people. Or at least people who have a lot of history. It was the kind of bittersweet scoff people make, when they recall a funny memory about a dead relative.  

"a book about mushrooms."  

Alec furrowed his brow, and for the first time during Magnus's tale he had to interrupt, "what?"  

"that's where I got Magnus from, a book of mushrooms. There was one on the shelf behind us, and the authors name was Magnus Bane."  

"oh," Alec muttered silently.  

"after that, it just kinda...stuck," Magnus said with a soft smirk.  

They were quit for a little while. Alec didn't want to ask. Not really. But he had to.  

"what is your real name then." 

Magnus's lips tightened. It was a small thing, but Alec noticed.  

Magnus stared at Alec. The corners of his eyes were tense. Like he was trying really hard not to fall apart. He just stared at Alec, long and hard, full of hesitation. Alec could see all his fears tumble around inside his head, like a laundry machine on centrifuge mode, and all he wanted to do was hug him and make that look of doubt and hesitation go away.  

Magnus's jaw quivered. Like it didn't quite want to open.  

Then, in a voice that sounded like old leather cracking, he wheezed.  

"Tito."  

Alec's heart stopped. And it wasn't just one of those metaphorical phrases from love-stories. It began again, don’t worry. But for a few seconds it actually stopped.  

Magnus let out a gasp, like saying it almost physically tore something out of him.  

"wow," Alec muttered. His heart halted after it's short pause, but now it beat faster than ever. So fast he thought he might pass out, "wow, wow, that's beautiful."  

"you think so?" The tears from before had returned. They lingered in the corners of his eyes, like they were scared to fall.  

"yeah," Alec breathed, and he reached a hand out to cup his cheek. "Tito," he said, mostly just to taste it, but also to assure himself that it was real. "Tito," he said again, stroking his thumb across his cheekbones. "Tito, Tito, Tito."  

Magnus laughed. _Tito_ laughed. And this time the tears did fall. Down on Alec's fingertips, where he carefully wiped them away.  

"thank you," he said.  

"for what?" 

Magnus sniffed, "for being you."  

Alec leaned forward and kissed his nose.  

"thank _you_  for being you."  

Magnus laughed again, and gently kissed Alec's hand. It was a small gesture, but it made Alec's skin tingle.  

"dinner's getting cold," he sniffed.  

Oh yeah.  

Dinner. Food. Regular supper with his boyfriend. All that.  

He'd kind of forgotten about that.  

"well," he shrugged softly, "we can always reheat it."  

"you're right," Magnus said, before he tackled Alec with a hungry kiss.  

And well, Alec was gone.  

**Author's Note:**

> this is the worst thing i've ever written
> 
> !!!!!!!PSA!!!!!!!!  
> so my both of my tumblr blogs got deleted, my main blog (@polar-robin) as well as my side blog where i posted my fan fictions (@fictionalrobin)
> 
> IF YOU KNEW ME ON ANY OF THOSE URLS THIS IS ME
> 
> i have yet to set up a new writing blog, so if you want to read my fics, you can just follow me @robinowich (it’s a lot of work to set up a blog and I’m already exhausted from setting up my main one)
> 
> no i don’t know what happened, to me it seemed random, however I had just edited my settings for the new privacy policy thing (WHICH IS IMPORTANT CUSS I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF ANYONE HAS EXPERIENCED A SIMULAR PROBLEM)
> 
> anyways, I lost 350 followers on one blog and close to 100 on the other, as well as three years of gain, and I had to set up a whole new email address, because tumblr still registered me as a user even though my blog had been deleted, and it just said “your blog has been terminated” when i tried to log in :’)


End file.
